Vanda Miss Joaquim - National flower of Singapore

​Vanda Miss Joaquim has a delicate scent that only true perfume lover will appretiate. In the market, there are many floral fragrances but this speaks of rare femininity, graciousness and is well-liked by many. Singapore Memories is one of the local perfume brands that uses much orchids as their main ingredient in their perfume.

Out of their range, Vanda 1981 has notes of this scent. This is what every lady should own one.  Vanda genus is a common perfume ingredient due to its soft yet sweet scents. Similarly, in Vanda 1981, it’s a mischievous yet gentle perfume that is suitable for everyone. 

​Interestingly, based on Nparks Singapore, it is said that the parents of Vanda Miss Joaquim, should be in the genus Papilionanthe, instead of Vanda. Thus, scientific name of Singapore’s national flower has also followed suit and is now named as Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim. However, it is still commonly known as Vanda Miss Joaquim.

 Today, many orchids are indeed being used in perfume due to their pleasant scents but years ago, when medicine are not so conveniently available everywhere, people uses orchids as home remedy. We continue to discover some medicinal usage for orchid genus - Apostasia, Blume. It is also known as Ni Lan in Chinese, have six species in Southeast Asia.

Apostasia nuda R. Br.
Also known as Si sarsar bulang, Si marsari sari, Duhut bane-bane or Poko pulumpus bedak in Malayu, it is usually found in lowland forest of Myanmar, southern Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Even thought it is an orchid, its visual make it hard for people to recognised.
Medicinal uses in Malaysia à roots of the orchids are boiled and smashed into poultices to treat diarrhoea and dog bites. Fruits from the plant are also used to treat sore eyes.

There are many names used for this plant across various countries. In Thailand, it is call Tan khamoi or Ma thon lak, while in Indonesia it is known as Djukut mayang kasintu. The Chinese name it as Jianyeni Lan and Hanching Fatimah for the Malays.

Some medicinal uses in Asia:
Thailand à roots are used as tonic. Malaysia à used as an antidiabetic agent